LANSING — Michigan’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in January decreased by three-tenths of a percentage point to 7.1 percent, but still rose slightly in Otsego and Montmorency counties.

The state’s December rate was revised downward by two-tenths of a percentage point from 7.6 to 7.4 as part of the annual revision process, according to data released by the Michigan Department of Labor & Economic Growth (DLEG).

In Otsego County, the jobless rate rose two-tenths of a percent to 10.4 in January — up from 10.2 in December. Montmorency County’s rate rose to 15.8 percent in January from 15 percent in December.

Jim Rhein, DLEG economic analyst, said the upward trend is not unusual for Northern Michigan in January, as seasonal employment is typically down in the winter months.

“Generally, what happens in the winter months, historically in January, February and March, is a flat labor market. Generally, there are fewer people in the labor force and that seems to be the trend at this point.

“It depends on the area,” he added. “There may be a couple of spikes where there are ski hills, but most industry sectors decline seasonally.

“There is nothing that looks atypical here, no little bumps or anything that looked odd. These were pretty textbook numbers going from December to January. We’ve got that up trend. It’s not horrendous. Fairly steady is OK. We’ll take that anytime.”

Total state employment rose by 33,000 and unemployment fell by 19,000 in January, which resulted in a labor force advance of 14,000 over the month.

Michigan’s January 2008 jobless rate edged upward by one-tenth of a percentage point from the state’s January 2007 revised rate of 7.0 percent. The national rate increased by three-tenths of a percentage point in the same period.

Some monthly labor force trends and highlights:

• The state’s jobless rate has hovered around the 7.0 percent range since 2003.

• Since January 2007, statewide unemployment decreased slightly by 2,000 or 0.6 percent, compared with a 7.6 percent increase nationally in the same period.

• The national jobless rate in January declined slightly by one-tenth of a percentage point over the month to 4.9 percent.

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